


commit this body to the deep

by ProfessorESP



Category: The Yogscast
Genre: Drowning, Fairy Tale Style, Murder, Necromancy, Other, Suicide, did i blatently rip off the premise of pushing daisies? Yes, do i care? no, magical house acquisition, shitty rhymes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-27
Updated: 2015-08-27
Packaged: 2018-04-17 11:12:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4664448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProfessorESP/pseuds/ProfessorESP
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i> "UNTO Almighty God we commend the soul of our brother departed, and we commit his body to the deep; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection unto eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ; at whose coming in glorious majesty to judge the world, the sea shall give up her dead; and the corruptible bodies of those who sleep in him shall be changed, and made like unto his glorious body; according to the mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself." </i> - Episcopal Prayer for burial at sea; The Book of Common Prayer (1928) p. 337<br/>The tale of a girl, a mermaid, and three dead men.</p>
            </blockquote>





	commit this body to the deep

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt "Hatsounds Fairy Tale Murder mystery." Though it's not much of a mystery, I hope you enjoy it all the same. Six months late. Writer's block can be an asshole sometimes.

In a far away land lie a long stretch of tall, imposing cliffs. They were beautiful, but also very deadly. For beneath the water of the high tide lie a range of perilous rocks, fatal to those who may jump from the heights above.

In this same land grew a young maiden who loved the cliffs and tides with all her heart. Her father, a fisherman, took her out to sea every day from her birth to her sixteenth birthday. On the very day she came of age he sailed farther along the cliffs than ever before, and she spotted a small cove surrounded by rocks, just large enough to build a house on.

“Oh, how I’d love to build a home in that cove and live on the shore,” the maiden said.

Scarcely had she spoken when from the water emerged a mermaid with long, dark hair and cat like features. It opened its mouth and sang:

“Your cove, your home, your shore shall be-

(For I own those cliffs, both land and sea)-

But first a promise you must make-

And sworn duty you must take-

Seek those who jumped from greater heights-

Their final business you must right.”

“I accept,” the maiden said. She stretched her hands out to the mermaid and it pulled her out of the boat and underneath the water. The cold shocked her, but she squeezed her eyes tight and held her breath. The mermaid held her arms fast and sang:

“One touch shall make a dead man rise-

One more shall make him once more die-

The sea will part to let you pass-

So long as oaths and vows shall last.”

The mermaid released her, and the girl swam to shore. In the cove she found a beautiful cottage, white as the foam and large as she could hope for. Inside she found the pantry full of food, the money box full of gold, and the closets full of fine clothes. She cooked herself a fine meal, put on a new nightgown, and slept well in her new bed.

The next morning, remembering the mermaid’s words, the girl went to explore the cove. The only way out was to follow the edge of the cliffs left or right until they receded back into a small beach. When she stepped into the water, it drew away, so the girl was able to climb the rocks at the shore’s bottom and walk into town without getting wet.

But the girl did not forget her promise. Each day at the change of the tides she walked the cliffside sea floor to search for the dead. Nearly every week she found at least one. She touched their cheek, asked why they had jumped, and then led them back to her cottage. She would pass the day with them, learning about their lives and promising to send messages to their families. When midnight came she took them out to the shore and touched their cheek again. When she walked back into the cottage she always heard the sound of a tail slapping the water, and the next morning the body would be gone.

When the tide changed at sunrise the girl searched the cliffsides and found a man in sailor’s garb. She touched his cheek and asked, “Why did you jump?”

“I did not jump,” he replied. “I met a man who wished to be my lover at the cliff’s edge, and when I rejected him he pushed me into the sea.”

The girl led the sailor back to her cove, and they talked the morning away. The sailor was very clever, and she liked him very much.

When the tide changed at noon, the girl searched the cliffsides and found a man in hunter’s garb. She touched his cheek and asked, “Why did you jump?”

“I did not jump,” he replied. “I tracked a wanted criminal to the cliff’s edge, and when I fought to subdue him he pushed me into the sea.”

The girl led the hunter back to her cove, and he and the sailor and the girl talked the afternoon away. The hunter was very kind, and the sailor and the girl both liked him very much.

When the tide changed at sunset, the girl searched the cliffsides and found a man in sorcerer’s garb. She touched his cheek and asked, “Why did you jump?”

“I did not jump,” he replied. “I challenged a rival of mine to a duel of magic at the cliff’s edge, and when I began my first spell he pushed me into the sea.”

The girl led the sorcerer back to her cove, and he and the hunter and the sailor and the girl talked the evening away. The sorcerer was very funny, and the three of them liked him very much.

When the tide changed at midnight, the girl left the three men in her cottage and walked to the edge of the cove’s beach. The mermaid appeared before her in a great splash, its tail glowing silver in the moonlight.

“I haven’t broken my vow,” the girl said. “I’m just confused. These men were murdered, and I cannot simply hear their stories if I am to put them at peace. And they are clever, and kind, and funny, and… I don’t wish to give them to the sea.”

The mermaid slapped its tail against the water and sang:

“Do not bring your men to me-

Their place is not beneath the sea-

Them into the world do send-

And let their own hands make amends-

Mark their returning with a kiss-

If them your heart would truly miss.”

Then it smiled and disappeared into the waves.

The girl went back into the cottage and relayed what the mermaid had said to her. She led the men past the cliffsides and into town, watching them disappear into the darkness. She slept fitfully that night.

When the tide changed at sunrise, the girl went to the beach and found the sailor waiting there. She kissed him and asked, “Why did you return?”

“Because I love you,” he said. “The man who killed me shall torment no lover of his ever again, so now I can live with you without fear.”

She led him back to her cove, and the two of them spent the morning in each other’s company.

When the tide changed at noon, the girl went to the beach and found the hunter waiting for her. She kissed him and asked, “Why did you return?”

“Because I love you and the sailor,” he said. “The man who killed me has faced justice for his crime, so now I can live with the two of you without fear.”

She led him back to her cove, and the three of them spent the afternoon in each other’s company.

When the tide changed at sunset, the girl went to the beach and found the sorcerer waiting there. She kissed him and asked, “Why did you return?”

“Because I love you, and the sailor, and the hunter,” he said. “The man who killed me shall never cast another spell again, so I can live with the three of you without fear.”

She led him back to her cove, and the four of them spent the evening in each other’s company.

When the tide changed at midnight, the girl went out to the edge of the cove’s beach and stood in the water, the sailor, the hunter, and the sorcerer behind her. The mermaid surfaced, its long hair plaited with shells. It opened its mouth and sang:

“Congratulations, lovers four-

You’ve broke the curse that bound before-

These cliffs to be a place of death-

Where many men draw final breath-

With love and vengeance, hand in hand-

Death shall no longer haunt my lands!”

With that, the mermaid dove beneath the waves, nothing but a flash of silver scales to show it was ever there.

They never saw the mermaid again, but its gift lingered. The pantry of the cottage was never empty, the money box was always full, and the closets were always stocked with fine clothes. The path to the beaches formed whenever they wished to leave the cove. True to its word, no one ever died at the base of the cliffs ever again. And most important, the girl, the sailor, the hunter, and the sorcerer all lived happily ever after.

THE END


End file.
